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John Muir Trail: Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney

Sierra Nevada, California, from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney

The John Muir Trail runs the length of the High Sierra from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. The National Park Service describes a 211-mile route through Yosemite, the Ansel Adams Wilderness, Kings Canyon and Sequoia, over a succession of passes above 3,000 m, with no road crossing for most of its length.

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Location
Sierra Nevada, California, from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney
Activity
Hiking
Length published by the National Park Service
211 miles
Permits
Yosemite wilderness permit; 45 exits per day over Donohue Pass
Elevation of the imported track
Not specified
OSM track distance
335.8 km
Places along the route
Happy Isles or Lyell Canyon trailheads in Yosemite in the north; Whitney Portal below Mount Whitney in the south

Before you go

A wilderness permit from Yosemite covers a continuous southbound hike; exits over Donohue Pass are limited to 45 hikers a day, split between the Happy Isles and Lyell Canyon trailheads, and demand far exceeds supply. Most hikers take two to three weeks and plan resupplies at the few access points. Snow can linger on the passes into July; altitude, storms and river crossings call for experience and a bear canister is required.

The route

The track comes from the OpenStreetMap relation "John Muir Trail" and forms one continuous line from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney. The distance is measured on this geometry without altitudes and is slightly shorter than the 211 miles published by the National Park Service; it is not a walking time and does not include the descent to Whitney Portal.

View this route in the catalogue

Places along the route

Sources and updates

Information checked on .

Track extracted on . © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0.

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